Jesus is My Shepherd - Forever

Let's pray.

Father God, we just praise you.

We thank you for adopting us as your very own children.

What a wonderful thing.

We just thank you and we praise you for that.

Father, I want to take a minute and just ask you to pour your love and your compassion on the people in Japan that are suffering from such a terrible tragedy.

That you would draw them close to you, that you would give them wisdom and even intervene supernaturally, you know, in the nuclear situation there.

And we just praise you and we trust you to do that.

I also ask you to be uh with all those who are risking their lives to protect us, the servicemen and women in Afghanistan and Iraq and Libya, that you would protect them and bless them, and that you would strengthen their families that are over here.

And Father, this morning, I say to be with us.

Holy Spirit, we thank you for being our guide and our teacher.

Please teach us this morning.

Please give us each something that we can walk away knowing what's from you.

And Jesus, our Savior, our shepherd.

We praise you and we thank you.

That's in your name we pray.

Amen.

Well, we're finishing up this morning.

We're looking at one of the most uh famous and powerful songs that's ever been written.

David wrote this worship song, and it's included in a book of 150 songs.

It's number 23 in that book, and so we call it the 23rd Psalm.

And it demonstrates a lot of things.

You know, one of them is just the supernatural power of God's word.

I've had so many people come up to me or email me and tell me how this particular psalm at some time in their life has spoken to them, has encouraged them, has has calmed them and comforted them.

And that's uh that's true for me, and hopefully it's been true for all of us as we um as we look at this uh together.

There's something else about this psalm.

I've mentioned each week how Jesus says in John chapter 5 that you search the scriptures because you think that they give you eternal life, but the scriptures point to me.

John 5 · chapter mention

And that's true in so many places in the Old Testament, but it's especially true in this 23rd Psalm because it's a perfect picture of our relationship with Jesus, how he truly is our shepherd.

Now, David draws, you know, on his different life experiences, you know, as he's writing different psalms.

And he had so many.

You know, he was a king and he was a warrior, he was a broken man at uh at a time and he was a shepherd.

But he draws on that experience to write the 23rd Psalm.

But what's unique and interesting is not that it's not really from the perspective of a shepherd, it's from the perspective of a sheep.

You know, it's just such an e interesting and fascinating perspective.

You know, and that idea of us being a sheep, it just doesn't come naturally.

I mean, we don't often compare ourselves to sheep.

I mean, there's not a reality show, Sheep the Bounty Hunter.

You know, there aren't any red uh red sheep energy drinks, there's not a rapper named Snoop Sheepy Sheep.

It'd be West Coast, but um but I am like a sheep.

I really am.

You know, I I need to be made to rest, I need guidance.

I go through tough times, and I need to be saved, I need to be comforted, and I need to be provided for.

And this entire psalm is written from a sheep's perspective.

And that's going to be important because there's a surprise ending to this psalm that is also from a sheep's perspective.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the still waters, he restores my soul, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

For you are with me, your rod and staff they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

We saw last week how that's still from a sheep's perspective, how the table was a plateau in the mountain that they would go to in the winter months, and a shepherd would prepare that table, would pull the weeds, would drive out the predators.

You anoint my head with oil, still from the sheep's perspective.

Every shepherd would put olive oil on the sheep's head because it soothed them and it healed them and it protected them.

My cup runs over, still from a sheep's perspective.

A shepherd would carry a bowl, and if a sheep was particularly thirsty, he would give him drink out of his very own water.

In the pastures, a lot of times they'd have a something hewn out of a rock that was permanent in that pasture, and so the sheep could drink.

And what the sheep would do is they'd stick their whole nose down, right up to their eyes, and then just drink until that they were full.

My cup runs over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

So this song basically describes a year in the life of a wonderfully cared for sheep.

From low pasture to high pasture, all the challenges that come in between.

Now, what could possibly be better for a sheep?

I mean, in a sheep's wildest dreams, how could it get any better?

It's the very last line of the psalm.

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

It is beyond a sheep's wildest dream to actually live with the shepherd in his house forever.

Can you imagine a sheep curled up next to a fireplace, next to a shepherd?

We've talked about how hard life is here, and at times it's very hard.

Even with Jesus.

I mean, even with him leading us and comforting us, providing for us, blessing us, life is very tough at times.

I don't know how people go through life without a relationship with Jesus because it's difficult enough at times with him as our shepherd.

And what makes it difficult is not Jesus.

His burden is light, he gives us rest.

What makes it difficult is that we live in a word world that uh is fallen, and so we're subjected to a lot of things just by living in the world.

Now he's transforming it by transforming us, and so we can help change it.

But it was the same for the sheep.

Even with the good shepherd watching over them, they experience some pain and some suffering.

Sometimes they'd do it themselves.

They'd fall into a hole, they'd walk right into a thorn bush, and they'd get stuck and they couldn't get out.

Sometimes it just happened because they were exposed to things like the weather.

And there were fierce thunderstorms where David lived.

There's a weather phenomenon, it's called the Red Sea trough.

And warm air comes up from the Sudan and cold air comes down from Europe and they collide into these terrible thunderstorms, with uh kind of like last night, with a lot of wind and a lot of lightning and hail.

Um we think of Jerusalem as a warm place, but in the winter they can have up to a foot of snow.

And so, even with a good shepherd, the sheep were subject to hazards of living in an unpredictable world.

And so, from a sheep's perspective, what could possibly be better than eventually living in the house with the shepherd forever?

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Our shepherd says, Don't let your hearts be troubled.

Trust in God and trust also in me.

There's more than enough room in my father's home.

If this were not so, would have I would I have told you that I'm going to prepare a place for you?

When everything is ready, I will come and get you, so that you will always be with me where I am.

Living in Jesus' house with him forever.

A place beyond our wildest imagination.

A place we call heaven.

In 1 Corinthians 2, this is what the scriptures mean when they say, No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.

But it was to us that God revealed these things by his spirit, for his spirit searches out everything and shows us God's deep secrets.

What heaven is like is kind of a wonderful, big secret.

But the Holy Spirit Spirit has shared some of that through his word.

There's over 500 verses in the Bible that describe aspects of heaven.

Now, up until a few years ago, I wasn't sure I really wanted to go to heaven.

I knew I didn't want to go to hell, but I wasn't sure I wanted to go to heaven.

I mean, I how boring was it going to be?

You know, just being a spirit, maybe playing a harp, floating around, singing worship songs all day long, day after day, forever.

You know, I thought I was uh actually was told that it was like an old-fashioned church service that never stopped.

After two weeks of singing just as I am for the thousandth time, I'd be getting a little antsy.

You know, there's nothing on TV but reruns.

And we'd have millions of years.

That is nothing like the heaven the Bible describes.

Heaven is not someplace up in the sky, it is a renewed earth with renewed people who are enjoying God and enjoying his creation just like God has always planned for each of us.

Romans 8 says, Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.

For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

Against its will, all creation was subjected to God's curse, but with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God's children in glorious freedom from death and decay.

For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to this present time.

And we believers also groan.

Even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste, you know, a taste of future glory, we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering.

We too wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us.

In Colossians 1, it says how everything was created through Jesus.

And through him, everything created is being restored, designed to live forever.

You know when God created the heavens and the earth, he said it was good.

Perfect.

He created man and women, created our bodies, similar to what we experienced, but um but different.

They were created perfect, designed to live in strength and power forever.

Work was meaningful, it was enjoyable, it was fulfilling.

Relationships were transparent and loving.

But when Adam and Eve chose law, the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, over relationships with God, the tree of life, all creation fell.

But God wouldn't give up on us.

So he had a plan where Jesus would come, restore our relationship with God, transform us from the inside out, restoring our relationship with others, and when Jesus comes again, he is going to restore all creation as he originally intended.

The earth, animals, us, new bodies, exciting responsibilities, learning and growing, relationships that are transparent and loving, never having to worry about being separated from our loved ones again.

Not only that, but we'll enjoy a relationship with God our Father, with Jesus and the Holy Spirit, literally, tangibly being with them forever.

And we'll want to worship God, although it won't be nonstop.

We'll have a lot to do.

See, the fall of man created a curse on all creation.

When Jesus comes again, all creation will be restored.

Revolutions.

Revelation 22.

Then the angel showed me a river with the water of life, clear as crystal, flowing from the throne of God and of the Lamb.

It flowed down the center of the main street.

On each side of the river grew a tree of life, bearing twelve crops of fruit, with a fresh crop each month.

The leaves were used for medicine to heal the nations.

No longer will there be a curse upon anything.

Our home with Jesus will not be in some faraway cloud.

It'll be in a renewed, beautiful, perfect world as God had always intended.

Now, one of the most exciting, I think most fun things is the change in our bodies.

It's going to be experiencing our new bodies.

In 1 Corinthians 15, it says, It will happen in a moment, in the blink of an eye, when the last trumpet is blown, for when the trumpet sounds, those who have died will be raised to live forever.

And we who are living will also be transformed.

For our dying bodies must be transformed into bodies that will never die.

Our mortal bodies must be transformed into immortal bodies.

Then when our dying bodies have been transformed into bodies that will never die, this scripture will be fulfilled.

Death is swallowed up in victory.

O death, where is your victory?

O death, where is your sting?

You know, we read uh a few minutes ago about a foreshadowing of heaven.

Sometimes we experience that in our bodies.

You know, about 10 or 12 years ago I decided to uh run a marathon.

I'm not a big runner, but it was just like a personal goal.

So, you know, I started out and and you'd run longer each weekend.

You know, I started with about a block, and um eventually it was about 16 miles, you know, as I got to that point in training.

And um one December I'm running out, not one December, I only did it once, that December.

Um I was running out at Kennesaw Mountain, and I got to about like the nine or ten mile mark, and for the next three or four miles, I felt like I could run forever.

It was amazing.

I just felt strong and I felt fast and I wasn't winded, and I just ran and it was like freeing.

It was just, it was wonderful.

It was a taste, a foreshadowing of what our bodies will be like in heaven.

And perhaps you've experienced something like that.

It might be different.

It might be when you felt like you could sing all night, or paint all night, or dance all night.

You know, it might be when you're riding a motorcycle.

Sometimes you just feel so connected to the bike, you know, and you've got that power, and you're going through the curves, and you just feel like you could ride forever.

It's a foretaste.

Just a taste of what heaven's gonna be like with our new bodies, strong bodies that'll never break down, that'll never tire, that'll never die.

You know, in heaven, we're gonna finally have enough time.

And how great will that be?

To have enough time.

And we can learn new things.

You know, there's this impression that as soon as Jesus comes, we're gonna know everything instantly.

That's not true.

What we're gonna know instantly is God's incredible plan, his love that there's no way we can understand.

And we're gonna know him.

We're gonna know Jesus, we're gonna know the Holy Spirit instantly.

But we're gonna be basically ourselves.

You know, we're gonna have the same personalities, and except, you know, healed up.

But uh but we'll be ourselves, we'll remember things, we'll look forward to things, we'll have eternity to do it, and we'll learn things, we'll have new experiences.

You know, perhaps you've wanted to play the guitar, but you've just never had the time.

You know, imagine having a hundred years to learn to play the guitar.

And at the same time, there's someone who has always dreamed about building a perfect guitar.

And that person has a hundred years with perfect wood and perfect strings, renewed earth and new materials.

And he builds a wonderful guitar.

Imagine what music and art and food and laughter is going to be like in heaven.

We'll have great relationships with friends and loved ones.

You know, we should so look forward to heaven.

We look forward to things.

You know, if we got a big vacation plan and we lay in bed at night and we think about how great that's gonna be laying out on the beach or being going wherever we're going, we should just dream about heaven.

It's such a wonderful place.

Many Christians don't.

And I think it's because of a couple reasons.

One is we fear that maybe we're not gonna be there.

It's not true.

You'll be there.

And then the other thing is that we fear the people that we care about won't be there.

I talked about this a couple weeks ago when we were talking about the valley of the shadow of death, fearing no evil, being protected and comfort.

How we can take comfort in God's overwhelming love.

You are saved, we are saved through Jesus.

In John 3.16, it says, For God loved the world so much that he gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish, but have eternal life.

And as far as our loved ones go, there's the very next verse.

God sent his son into the world, not to judge the world, but to save the world through him.

And we're talking about how Jesus is our good shepherd.

In Matthew 18, Jesus says, If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them wanders away, what will he do?

Won't he leave the ninety-nine others on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

And if he finds it, I tell you the truth.

He will rejoice over it more than over the ninety-nine that didn't wander away.

In the same way, it is not my heavenly Father's will that even one of these little ones should perish.

First Peter 3 is talking about Jesus.

We talked about this a couple weeks ago.

It says that he literally went back, it's hard to understand, hard to imagine, that somehow he literally went back and preached to everyone who was destroyed in the flood.

And it says in 1 Peter 4, 6, that is why the good news was preached to those who are now dead.

So although they were destined to die like all people, they now live forever with God in the Spirit.

In Romans chapter 11, there's a similar statement about Israel.

Romans 11 · chapter mention

It says that it's a big mystery, is what Paul says, but all Israel will be saved.

And then in verse 32, for God has imprisoned everyone in disobedience so he could have mercy on everyone.

Oh, how great are God's riches and wisdom and knowledge, how impossible it is for us to understand his decisions and his ways.

Okay, if Paul doesn't understand all this, I don't understand all that.

You may not understand all that, but we're in good company.

Paul doesn't understand all that.

He says it's impossible to understand.

In fact, Paul makes one of the greatest statements that you will ever hear on doctrine and theology.

It's in 1 Corinthians 8 2.

It says, Anyone who claims to know all the answers doesn't really know very much.

We can't understand it all.

But there's one thing that is for sure, and that's Jesus' love is immeasurable.

He is not limited by time and space, and that he is going to go all out, all out to save our loved ones.

And so we do what we can.

We talk to those that we love, we demonstrate God's love to them, we pray for them, but in the end we should rest.

We should rest in God's immeasurable, unfathomable love.

And look forward to being with our loved ones in heaven.

We look forward to being with God our Father.

We look forward to being with the Holy Spirit.

We look forward to being with Jesus face to face in a real and tangible way.

I mean, how incredible is that gonna be?

To be physically together.

In Revelation 21, I heard a loud shout from the throne saying, Look, God's home is now among his people.

He will live with them, and they will be his people.

God himself will be with them.

He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and there will be no more death or sorrow or crying or pain.

All these things are gone forever.

God the Father Himself is going to wipe every tear you've ever cried from your eyes.

He is going to pick you up.

He is going to hug you.

He's going to hold you.

Tell you how much he loves you.

And we'll get to be with him forever.

You will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalms 23.

It's a worship song.

It's unique because the whole thing is from the perspective of a sheep.

A year in the life of a wonderfully cared for sheep.

From low pasture to high pasture, all the challenges in between.

What could possibly be better for a sheep?

In its wildest dreams?

To live with a shepherd in his house.

Jesus saves us.

He provides for us.

He shows us what our fathers really like.

He gives us value and purpose and life.

In our wildest dreams, what could be any better?

That's the surprise ending to the psalm.

It's that we will live in our shepherd's house with him forever.

And so if the worship team will come up, we're going to finish with a song in a minute.

And I would ask that everybody that can will stay, even if you have to get to another area to volunteer, that uh if you can just stay for this last worship psalm because it's really going to be meaningful as uh as we sing it together.

Having Jesus as our shepherd is simple.

We ask him in our own words, in our own way, I need you.

Please help me.

I want to follow you.

And with that, we walk into his pasture.

And he saves us and he fills us and he starts the process of changing us from the inside out.

The 23rd Psalm was written by David 3,000 years ago from a sheep's perspective.

But there's something powerful about it, there's something supernatural about it.

It encourages us, it calms us because it's true.

It describes our relationship with Jesus.

So if you'll stand, let's get ready.

We'll sing this last song together.

You know, Jesus is your shepherd.

He is.

You will have everything that you need.

He's going to make you lie down and rest.

He's restoring our souls.

He's getting us on the right path.

You know, his reputation is at stake.

Even in the hardest times, our toughest times, like death, we have nothing to fear.

Because he's with you, he protects you, he comforts you.

He's going to take care of you and provide you in front of everyone.

It's almost overwhelming.

For sure.

For sure.

Guaranteed.

Without a doubt, for sure, goodness and mercy is going to follow you every day of your life.

And you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Jesus, thank you so much for being our shepherd.

Thank you for caring for us, loving us, providing for us.

We thank you for preparing a place now for us.

We love you, we need you, we trust you, and it's in your name we pray.

Amen.